Mandela and Arafat

James Zogby @ Arab American Institute - In late February of 1990, just two weeks after being released from prison, Nelson Mandela met with Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasir Arafat. Afterwards Mandela spoke publicly of his affinity with the Palestinian people and his support for their struggle. He described the parallels between the two peoples' struggles for justice, saying in part, "There are many similarities between our struggle and that of the PLO We live under a unique form of colonialism in South Africa, as well as in Israel..." read more.